RIP, Burt: Powerful Croc, ‘Confirmed Bachelor,’ and True Star of Crocodile Dundee

Burt, champion known arsenic the “bastard” saltwater croc from Crocodile Dundee, died implicit the weekend. Long unrecorded Burt.

Along with a knife, there’d beryllium nary Crocodile Dundee without crocodiles, and Burt some appeared successful the 1986 movie and besides reportedly inspired the prop croc that astir gobbled up unwitting newsman Sue Charlton (played by Linda Kozlowski) successful 1 captious scene.

Burt “passed distant peacefully” astatine the Crocosaurus Cove successful Darwin, Australia, the herpetarium and aquarium wrote connected Facebook, estimating that helium lived good into his 90s.

Named aft the precocious histrion Burt Reynolds and weighing successful astatine astir 1,500 pounds, Burt drives a cardinal struggle successful the Australian-American action-comedy flick. The croc rises from murky waters conscionable arsenic Charlton wades successful for a cooling dip and a drink, erstwhile helium (or rather, the prop purporting to beryllium him) abruptly snatches the canteen astir her cervix with great, big, pointy teeth. In the nick of time, the voyeur Mick Dundee (played by Paul Hogan) leaps into framework and mercilessly deals Burt a deathblow with his iconic knife.

The incidental trauma-bonds the characters and concludes with an embrace. In Dundee’s arms, Charlton asks, “is it dead?” Dundee quips back, “well if it isn’t, I’m gonna person a hellhole of a occupation skinning the bastard.”

Burt’s evident on-screen disposition wasn’t conscionable fiction, according to the Crocosaurus Cove post. The aquarium described him arsenic a “fiery,” “fierce,” and “challenging” croc who came to beryllium a well-known “ambassador for crocodile education.” The tract besides called him “a confirmed bachelor—an cognition helium made wide during his earlier years astatine a crocodile farm.”

Burt archetypal arrived astatine the workplace successful the 1980s, aft being captured from the Reynolds River successful Australia’s Northern Territory, according to the societal media post. The largest reptiles live today, saltwater crocodiles are besides autochthonal to Eastern India and Southeast Asia. They’re not listed arsenic endangered, though National Geographic notes that the species’ “reputation arsenic a man-eater” puts “pressure connected the population.” It stands to crushed that this is owed astatine slightest successful portion to films specified arsenic Crocodile Dundee, arsenic experts person linked Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) to harmful outcomes for sharks.

On Facebook, Crocosaurus Cove visitors shared their ain colorful memories of Burt and wished the almighty reptile good successful the large beyond.

“Hope the rivers are afloat of tasty food wherever you are now,” said 1 commenter warmly. “Hope helium WD beryllium stuffed n not incinerated,” offered another.